Measurement: Research Using Numbers Numerals vs. numbers
10 important questions on Measurement: Research Using Numbers Numerals vs. numbers
What is the difference between numerals and numbers in research?
- NUMBERS assign value and relativity to phenomena, enabling accurate discriminations and generalizations
What are the measurement levels in research?
- ORDINAL MEASUREMENT: indicates level of progression
- INTERVAL MEASUREMENT: equal intervals on a scale
- RATIO MEASUREMENT: contains a "true" zero capturing absence of attribute
What are some checks for reliability in research?
- INTERCODER RELIABILITY: multiple observers agree on observations
- INTERITEM RELIABILITY: consistency within questions of a set
- ESTABLISHED MEASURES RELIABILITY: compare with known, tested measures for the same purpose
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How does the test-retest method contribute to reliability checks in research?
- Aims to ensure communication measure yields consistent results over time
- Reliability coefficients like correlations above 0.85 are deemed acceptable by most researchers
What is intercoder reliability and how is it established in research?
- Ensures consistency among observers' observations
- Achieved through thorough training and clear definitions of behavior
Explain the interitem reliability check in research and the split half technique.
- Split half technique correlates results between first and second halves of question set
- Correlation between scores from randomly selected question pairs is computed
What are the four measurement levels and their characteristics?
- ORDINAL: indicates progression; e.g., rank order questions
- INTERVAL: equal intervals on a scale; e.g., Likert scale
- RATIO: contains a "true" zero; e.g., speed on a speedometer
How can reliability be improved in measurement instruments?
• Adding or dropping questions based on interitem correlations
• Pretesting instructions for observers
• Training observers
• Repeating measurements under original conditions as much as possible.
Which measurement scales include the LIKERT SCALE and the SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE (OSGOOD)?
• SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE: presents opposing ideas and a 5-point scale to indicate opinion position.
What is the process of CODING in research?
• Essential for organizing and analyzing data efficiently
• Often used to categorize qualitative information into numerical or categorical data for statistical analysis
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